Vizio's Spring Refresh Brings Touch Support to Premium PC Line

Yes, we used "Vizio" and "premium" in the same sentence.

Who would have thought that Vizio would make a splash in the PC market, and do so at a time when tablets and smartphones are all the rage? Vizio made its move into PC territory last June by introducing a line of all-in-one systems and Ultrabooks with unibody designs similar in style to Apple's MacBook Air (but at a fraction of the cost), and now it's refreshing its lineup with upgraded features, including touchscreen panels for Windows 8.

There are several PCs to choose from starting at $1,090 for a 14-inch Touch Thin + Light (CT14T-B0) notebook with an AMD A10 APU foundation, essentially an AMD version of an Ultrabook. There's also an Intel version (CT14T-B1) that runs $1,420, along with 15.6-inch models with AMD ($1,190, CT15T-B0) or Intel ($1,470, CT15T-B1) inside.

Vizio's also launching three all-in-one PCs, including a pair of 24-inch models -- CA24T-BO (AMD, $1,280) and CA24T-B1 (Intel, $1,440) -- and a 27-inch SKU (CA27T-B1) with Intel inside for $1,550.

Select systems are available to pre-order now on Vizio's website, while the 15.6-inch Touch Thin + Light (CT15T-B1) and 24-inch Touch All-in-One (CA24T-B0) are available at MicrosoftStore.com.

I wouldn't call "starting at $1,090" for "designs similar in style to Apple's MacBook Air" " "a fraction of the cost." ...well, I guess three-fourths or more is still a fraction.

What you really get is a fraction of the resale value :D Not to pick on Visio; that's PCs in general. The real value here may be realized in the touch support. I know for a lot of people (like the ones who don't build) this would be a great computer.

That comment was in relation to Vizio's original Ultrabook offerings, which debuted for several hundred less than a comparable MacBook Air (you can now find the 15.6-inch model for around $600, versus $1,200 for a 13-inch MacBook Air).

And you nailed it about touch support, if comparing these new models to the MacBook Air line. I suspect Apple will upgrade the MacBook Air with touch panels at some point too, but I'd be surprised if the price points stayed the same.